Schioapa – Romania

Schioapa (shkew-AH-pah), “limping”, refers to two VERY different Romanian dances. Here’s the Living Schioapa popular in Romania today, especially Dobrogea [see CULTURE>ETHNICITY, HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY>Dobrudja, Dobrogea]. It’s in the aksak (irregular) rhythm of 9/16, or Q,Q,Q,S, – 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,3. I call this a T-9A variation of the Taproot Dance. For more on theTaproot Dance and its variations, see BEGIN>The Taproot Family.

It’s related to the Bulgarian Daičovo of the same rhythm. However dance scholars believe its not a case of one dance influencing the other, rather that both dances evolved in tandem. It’s also related to Cadaneasca (Living) and Hodoroaga (1st G), posted separately.